Sunny by Jason Reynolds

Sunny by Jason Reynolds

Pub. Date: April 10, 2018

Publisher: Atheneum

Pages: 176

Format: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Sunny can run. He’s incredibly fast and athletic. He may be a key player on the Defenders track team, but his heart is not 100 percent invested in running. His true passion is dancing. When Sunny dances he feels free; the world transforms into sounds and he feels his feet and his body become one with the music. It lets him forget his at times awkward and disconnected relationship with his dad, and his mom’s death becomes a lighter burden. When he admits this to his coach, he is not booted from the team, but instead finds a spot on the team that’s perfect for him, and he dances along to the beat of his own drum. Written in diary entries by Sunny, the third book in the TRACK series is full of thoughts, feelings and emotions but takes a step away from the structure of the previous two books.

If I remember correctly, I read Sunny in basically one sitting. We all know Jason has a way with words and that you just want to keep reading because his books are so fantastic. Reading Sunny was an interesting experience, and a new one for me when it comes to Jason’s books. I think the diary format threw me off; I wasn’t really hooked until about halfway through at which point the book was wrapping up. It was a sweet story and I liked the different approach to telling Sunny’s story, since he is such a unique character on this team. All of the characters in this series are so individual and so themselves and I’m happy we got to see another perspective that wasn’t all about running, running, running. The ending was sweet and left me with a bit of a smile on my face which is always good. While it felt a little short to me (not to be confused with rushed) and I wasn’t as enamored with it as Ghost and Patina, I did still enjoy reading about Sunny and learning his side of things.